WDAF-TV
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| WDAF-TV | |
|---|---|
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| Kansas City | |
| Branding | FOX4 |
| Slogan | Working For You |
| Channels | 4 (VHF), 14 more translators analog, 34 (UHF) digital |
| Affiliations | Fox (since 1994) |
| Owner | Fox Television Stations Group |
| Founded | October 19, 1949 |
| Call letters meaning | WDAF 610 AM (now KCSP) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1949-1994) CBS (secondary, 1949-52) DuMont (secondary, 1949-52) ABC (1949-53) |
| Website | www.myfoxkc.com |
WDAF-TV ("FOX4") is the Fox owned and operated television station in the Kansas City television market. It runs about 50 hours a week of locally produced newscasts, as well as first-run prime time and sports programming from Fox. It also runs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows, sports, and court shows. Its transmitter is located in Kansas City, Missouri.
The station uses a news helicopter (Sky Fox) to check traffic, cover breaking news, and track storms. It has the #1 newscast in several time slots, including 9:00pm and the morning newscast.
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[edit] History
WDAF began operation in 1949, and affiliated with all four major networks of the time: NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont. It was the first television station in Kansas City, with Randall Jessee at the helm of newscasting. Several other notables, including Shelby Storck (WDAF-TV's first weathercaster) and future Hollywood character actor Owen Bush, did announcing for the station during the early 1950s. When KMBC signed on in 1953, CBS and Dumont programming moved there. WDAF shared ABC with KMBC until later in 1953, when KCMO-TV (now KCTV) signed on as the CBS affiliate. KMBC and WDAF then affiliated exclusively with ABC and NBC respectively. The station pre-empted moderate amounts of NBC programming, usually some daytime shows, and occasionally a prime time show.
The station was originally owned by the Kansas City Star along with WDAF-AM 610, which began operations in 1922. The Star was founded by Democrat William Rockhill Nelson. However, under Roy Roberts in the 1940s, the paper became increasingly Republican, and supported the opponents of hometown boy Harry S. Truman. In 1953, the federal government began antitrust action against the Star over its broadcasting properties (WDAF-AM-FM-TV), allegedly at the behest of Truman during the waning days of his administration. The Star was found guilty in 1955. After appeals failed, it signed a consent decree in 1957 requiring it to sell its broadcasting properties.
In 1958, WDAF-AM-FM-TV was sold to Transcontinent Broadcasting. Transcontinent merged with Taft Broadcasting in 1964. Transcontinent Television later sold the station to Taft Broadcasting on April 1, 1964. Citicasters, formally Great American Communications, acquired Taft Broadcasting on October 12, 1987. By that year WDAF had overtaken KMBC as the dominant station in Kansas City, as was the trend at many NBC affiliates.
On July 13, 1984, WDAF-TV became one of the first 20 NBC stations in the country to receive network programming via satellite. In 1986 WDAF-TV also became the first TV station in Kansas City to broadcast in stereo.
[edit] As a Fox station
In the spring of 1994, WDAF was sold to New World Communications (along with Phoenix's KSAZ). Shortly after the sale was announced, New World also announced that its stations were to affiliate with the Fox network. This came after Fox picked up the contract to carry the NFC game package from CBS.
As such, WDAF became a Fox affiliate on September 12th of 1994, and the NBC affiliation moved to KSHB Channel 41, the old Fox station. WDAF, however, did not take the programming from Fox Kids, which moved to KSMO (subsequently moving to KCWE in 1998, and KMCI in 1999). WDAF also increased its local news programming from 30 hours a week to 50 hours. WDAF-TV added 2 hours of local news weekdays from 7-9 in the morning, a half-hour of news at 5:30 p.m., and WDAF-TV adds one hour of news seven days a week at 9 p.m. As a Fox affiliate, WDAF was the only New World-owned station to be a former NBC affiliate; sister stations WVTM in Birmingham and KNSD in San Diego were sold to NBC Universal.
WDAF officially became a Fox owned and operated station in 1997, following Fox's purchase of the New World station group. WDAF is the only O&O of any major network in the Kansas City market.
The station was the over-the-air flagship station of the Kansas City Royals for many years, long after many Big Three affiliates dropped regular coverage of local sports. On September 3, 1992 WDAF-TV lost the broadcast rights for the Kansas City Royals baseball games, marking the end of a 13-year business relationship.
In August 1997, WDAF-TV produced and aired Kansas City Chiefs pre-season games for the first time, upgrading the local production presentation to network quality standards. The contract ran through the 1999 season. In 1998 Chiefs pre-season games on WDAF-TV were closed-captioned.
In 2003, WDAF launched a rapid modernization campaign. The station remodeled its studio, updated its technology and weather equipment, and introduced improved graphics and a modified logo. The station also added the FOX4 Problem Solvers, a team of investigative reporters assigned to help people with various problems.
On September 23, 2005 at 11:00 AM, WDAF-TV began broadcasting in full power High Definition. The station went from an HD signal rated at 1.2 Kilowatts to a signal strength of 1000 Kilowatts. FOX 4 became the only station in the market broadcasting an HD signal with a top mounted antenna. This omni directional antenna, located at 1160ft. on top of the Signal Hill tower, provides a 50-60 mile unimpaired signal diameter, duplicating the current analog pattern.
[edit] Market firsts
WDAF-TV "firsts" in the Kansas City market:
- First on air
- First with videotape
- First with color TV
- First to go stereo
- First to have Doppler radar
- First to offer 24 hour programming
- First to move from phone lines to satellite for the receipt of the network signal
- First to bring weekend morning news and a 5:30 a.m. weekday newscast
- First local television station to be linked to cable systems via fiber optic
- First to bring a helicopter to Kansas City for traffic and news reporting
[edit] Personalities
[edit] Current
[edit] Anchors
- Mark Alford - morning/noon anchor
- Heather Claybrook - weekend morning anchor/"Problem Solver"
- Loren Halifax - 5-7:30 am/noon anchor
- Paul Herdtner - 7:30-9 a.m. anchor
- Susan Hiland - 5 and 9 p.m. anchor
- John Holt - 5 and 9 p.m. anchor/"Problem Solver"
- Sharita Hutton - weekend morning
- Tom Lawrence - Weekend anchor
- Shelli Lockhart - 6 and 10 p.m. anchor
- Laura Thornquist - 7:30-9 a.m. anchor
- Phil Witt - 6 and 10 p.m. anchor
[edit] Reporters
- Eric Burke
- Kim Byrnes
- Leslie Carto
- Nancy Lewis
- Rob Low
- Meryl Lin McKean - medical reporter
- John Pepitone
- Ken Price
- Kathy Quinn
- Steve Shaw
- Bob Stepanich
- Nick Vasos - traffic
- Linda Wagar
[edit] Meteorologists
- Don Harman, Morning meteorologist
- Joe Lauria, Weekends
- Mike Thompson, Chief Meteorlogist
[edit] Sports
- Frank Boal, sports director/Monday-Thursday anchor
- Jason Lamb, weekend sports reporter
- Al Wallace, Friday sports anchor/reporter
[edit] Former
- Carmen Ainsworth, 6 & 10 PM anchor
- Carrie Coogan, "Fox 4 Problem Solver", "Try it before you Buy it"
- Toby Cook, Weekday mornings 7:30-9:00 AM, now with the Kansas City Royals
- Casey Curry, Noon news, Weekend morning meteorologist, moved to KTRK [1]
- Harris Faulkner, 6 & 10 PM anchor, now with Fox News
- Gary Lezak - Morning Meteorologist, Now Chief Meteorologist at KSHB
- Heather McMichael - Morning anchor, 7:30-9:00 AM
- Sue Mason - Weekday mornings, 6 AM-7:30 AM, now with Nebraska Furniture Mart
- Tina Simpkin, Noon news, Weekend morning meteorologist, now meterologist at WTHR in Indianapolis
- Shelly Slater, 6 & 10 PM weekend anchor, moved to WFAA-TV
[edit] External links
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KTVI 2 (St. Louis) - WDAF 4 (Kansas City) - KBSI 23 (Cape Girardeau) - KSFX 27 (Springfield) - K38II 38 (Jefferson City) |
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| See also: ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Missouri | |
